11:56pm November 24, 2013

like-the-way-some-people-use-crazy-isnt-a

raposadanoite:

madeofpatterns:

alwaysfaithfulterriblelizard:

madeofpatterns:

youneedacat:

madeofpatterns:

Like, the way some people use “crazy” isn’t a reclaimed slur in the same way that ethnic slurs can be… Or like the way that sexuality-related slurs can be…

…it’s a word that people use to describe a thing that *needs describing* and from some perspectives that is the best available word.

Calling…

Yeah I don’t consider crazy a reclaimed slur when i use it. I don’t even consider it a slur at all when I use it. It’s one of those words that can be a lot of different things, depending on how it’s used. And I’ve never known how to SAY that, because there’s this idea that it’s either 1. a slur or 2. a reclaimed slur and that’s just too complicated for me to even know how to explain.

Yes. I think one thing that makes it different is…

*There is literally no other way than “crazy” to say certain important things*.

It’s not like slur words - slurs are derogatory ways of referring to things that have readily available better words. Like, for people without language disabilities, there’s no *reason* to say any of the slurs - saying gay, lesbian, person of color, person with an intellectual disability etc communicates the point *better* than using a slur word.

But some words that get used against people sometimes *also have really important other meanings* and that’s different from words that only or mostly exist to hurt people.

ahh yes i’ve been wrestling with this issue for like a week
also, the reason “crazy” has a stigma is because of it’s meaning. that’s why “mentally ill” can be used as an insult, and until the stigma of mental illness is gone, whatever words mean mentally ill will be weaponized

Crazy and mentally ill *don’t* mean the same thing, though. Crazy has non-slur meanings that aren’t equivilant.

I still wonder why everything else is prejudice, discrimination or some -ism but mental illness/crazy has stigma.

It’s possible that stigma is used for other groups too but it looks like it’s rare and other words are more common but I keep seeing stigma for mental illness.

Why the difference?

Stigma gets used for other groups too, but it doesn’t get used exclusively in the same way.

Which I think is because… a lot of mental health crazy discrimination comes from people who want to say that the only problem people face is that stigma prevents them from ~getting the treatment they need~.

Which is pretty much an idea that originated in NAMI types – not crazy people at all, but relatives who thought they knew what was best for us. I found NAMI seriously alienating even when I was trying hard to buy into standard viewpoints about us.

Notes: